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Monday, November 30, 2009

Cheese Bites - An Appetizer for Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Poor planning on my part led to some scrambling today. Several weeks ago I agreed to make appetizers for a fund raiser, not realizing that the date fell on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Normally, I love to do this kind of thing. Not so much today. I've been in the kitchen a lot this past week and right now my idea of a perfect meal is a container of Ramen noodles. Having backed myself into a corner, I felt duty bound to get myself out of it with as much grace as I could muster. These cheese bites and two other very easy recipes were my passport to that graceful exit. The recipe for this appetizer is over a decade old. It came on the back of a box of Land O'Lakes butter. The original recipe called for blue cheese and roasted peppers. I still do that sometimes, but I must admit to doubling the amount of blue cheese I use when making the cheese bites that way. I also make them with Parmigiano-Reggiano and sun-dried tomatoes. The original recipe suggests baking the appetizer in a tart pan and serving it in wedges. I think that's way to rich for a first course and the wedge is hard to serve as a finger food. Over time, I began to make these in rectangular tart pans, cut them into small squares and serve them as finger food that can be passed with cocktails. In a bind, I've been known to use commercially prepared puff pastry or pie crust. The bites can also be assembled and frozen to cook as needed. This is not the best of my appetizers but it's among the most serviceable. I've used it over and over again because it is so easy to do and lends itself to theme and variation. Here's the base recipe.

Directions:1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a tart pan (round or rectangular) with a removable bottom with pie crust. Dock crust with a fork. Place foil and pie weights inside pastry. Bake until very lightly bown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights.2) While crust bakes, combine cheeses in a large bowl. Beat, at medium speed, scraping bowl as required, until cheeses are creamy. Gradually add cream, egg and black pepper until everthing is blended. Spread into prepared crust. Sprinkle with red peppers or sun-dried tomatoes. Top with nuts and parsley. Bake until filling is set, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Cut into wedges or squares. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 14 to 16 servings.

60 comments
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Wow! These look great! I love how you describe them as a "graceful exit". I would be embarrassed for you to see what a "graceful exit" appetizer would have been for me! I can tell you this...it would have come out of a box.

This looks tasty as well as easy enough for me to prepare during this season of holiday celebrations requiring me to bring a dish to share.I always appreciate the bits of information you add to your recipe posts.

To find this recipe on the back of a butter carton speaks volumes [seriously!! I would never dream of even looking on the back of a box]....just look at how yummy they are?!!! I'd say that you DID do your duty. And gracefully; to be sure. {But I had to laugh at the part about Ramen Noodles---that, just to inform you, is NOT how I have you pictured at all...Ramen Noodles indeed...more like some great concoction that'll blow your visitors away!}

Gosh, those sound good, Mary! It almost sounds like a quiche, but denser. I'm sure I could eat a dozen or so. I'm a big cheese lover. And I think this is a graceful exit as you said. A divinely graceful one.

oh, this looks like a great appetizer! I'm going to give it a try for the holidays. I like the thought of having an appetizer I can bake in a pan and cut into bite size pieces. I make a lot of the individual appetizers, but smetimes, it would be great to have something like this to make for a crowd and something that is a little less time consuming!

I love your blog name, as I have told my husband for years that there is this thing where you take a little nudge of each ingredient on the plate and taste it all at once and it becomes 'The Perfect Bite'...I am going to make the cheese bites, since I often need wonderful recipes like this for entertaining and catering...you will get lots of credit!

How absolutely beautiful and delicious these look, Mary! You are such an amazing cook and baker! I love coming to see what new recipes you've come up with! Thanks so much for sharing your heartfelt recipes! Warm wishes, Coralie

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